Vice President, Operational Excellence

Atlantic Health System•Morristown, NJ

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Vice President, Operational Excellence will develop and lead the multi-year operational excellence roadmap, ensuring strong alignment with the organization’s long-term strategy and annual goals. This role will identify and prioritize value streams and breakthrough initiatives that will deliver impact on quality, safety, access, patient experience, team member engagement, and affordability. The position involves developing and overseeing the system’s strategy deployment process, establishing catchall processes to engage leaders across the organization, and implementing visual strategy deployment systems. The role also oversees the execution of high-impact improvement initiatives using methodologies such as value stream mapping, rapid improvement events, standard work, and 3P design, leading cross-functional teams to eliminate waste, improve flow, expand access, enhance reliability, and reduce total cost of care. Additionally, the VP will implement and oversee a comprehensive lean management system, coach leaders in using daily management, and develop leaders and staff in lean thinking and accountability-based leadership practices. This role requires partnering with various departments to define aligned KPIs, monitoring progress on systemwide improvement goals, and delivering measurable improvements in key areas.

Requirements

Experience in developing and leading multi-year operational excellence roadmaps.
Proficiency in identifying and prioritizing value streams and breakthrough initiatives.
Experience in developing and overseeing strategy deployment processes.
Ability to establish processes for engaging leaders and aligning goals.
Experience with visual strategy deployment systems and performance reviews.
Expertise in executing improvement initiatives using methodologies like value stream mapping, rapid improvement events, standard work, and 3P design.
Experience leading cross-functional teams to improve operational metrics.
Ability to establish sustainment mechanisms for operational improvements.
Experience implementing and overseeing lean management systems, including daily huddles, leader standard work, and A3 problem solving.
Coaching experience for leaders in daily management and continuous improvement.
Experience in developing leaders and staff in lean thinking and problem-solving methodologies.
Leadership style focused on respect, humility, transparency, and performance discipline.
Ability to promote psychological safety and continuous learning.
Experience in defining and tracking KPIs aligned with strategic goals.
Ability to monitor progress and communicate insights to executive leadership.
Proven track record of delivering measurable improvements in quality, safety, patient experience, engagement, and cost of care.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead the multi-year operational excellence roadmap, ensuring strong alignment with the organization’s long-term strategy and annual goals.
Identify and prioritize value streams and breakthrough initiatives that will deliver impact on quality, safety, access, patient experience, team member engagement and affordability.
Develop and oversee the system’s strategy deployment process, ensuring that breakthrough goals and annual priorities are clearly defined, aligned and resourced.
Establish catchall processes to engage leaders across the organization in aligning goals, identifying performance gaps and confirming ownership.
Establish visual strategy deployment systems and lead regular performance reviews focused on countermeasures, learning and delivery of enterprise outcomes.
Oversee the execution of high-impact improvement initiatives using methodologies such as value stream mapping, rapid improvement events, standard work and 3P design.
Lead cross-functional teams to eliminate waste, improve flow, expand access, enhance reliability, and reduce total cost of care.
Establish sustainment mechanisms that integrate into daily management – e.g. standard work audits – to ensure operational stability and maintain improvements over time.
Implement and oversee a comprehensive lean management system, including tiered daily huddles, leader standard work, visual management, standard work audits and A3 problem solving.
Coach leaders at all levels in using daily management to sustain operations, surface problems early and drive continuous improvement.
Ensure consistency, rigor and spread of daily management across all hospitals, ambulatory sites and shared services.
Develop leaders and staff at all levels in lean thinking, A3 problem solving, daily management and accountability-based leadership practices.
Model a leadership style focused on respect for people, humility, transparency, and performance discipline.
Promote psychological safety and continuous learning through frequent Gemba presence, humble inquiry and support for structured experimentation.
Partner with Quality, Finance, HR, Patient Experience, operations and service lines to define aligned system and site-level KPIs tied to breakthrough goals and daily management.
Monitor progress on systemwide improvement goals and communicate actionable insights on performance, trends, risks and countermeasures to executive leadership.
Deliver measurable, high-impact improvements in quality, safety, access, patient experience, team member engagement and cost of care.

Benefits

Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Coverage (22.5 hours per week or above for full-time and part-time team members)
Life & AD&D Insurance.
Short-Term and Long-Term Disability (with options to supplement)
403(b) Retirement Plan: Employer match, additional non-elective contribution
PTO & Paid Sick Leave
Tuition Assistance, Advancement & Academic Advising
Parental, Adoption, Surrogacy Leave
Backup and On-Site Childcare
Well-Being Rewards
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Fertility Benefits, Healthy Pregnancy Program
Flexible Spending & Commuter Accounts
Pet, Home & Auto, Identity Theft and Legal Insurance